Shalini was in the veranda. ‘Welcome! Welcome! At last the happy couple! What happened? Was the train late? We’ve been wondering. Never mind, now you’re here. Kitty, you must be tired. Such a long journey. Have a cup of tea, then you rest. Later I’ll get Shambu to prepare two buckets of hot water for your bath.’
‘Thank you Shalini, that is sweet of you, I…’
‘No, Kitty, no formalities. Treat this as your home. Arrey, heard the terrible news. About the cottage, your cottage. I hope the police catch the culprit. Anyway as I say, this is home. As for you, Dusty, you look like cat who’s stolen the cream. Let the girl rest, now. We’ll see you this evening.’
Chapter Thirteen
‘I’ve got a date from Caleb, Father Caleb. He insists on the Father bit.’
‘Yes, he’s High Church.’ Kitty said, watching Dusty remove his blazer and drape it on the back of a cane chair.
‘Sunday, 3 p.m. A week from today.’
‘I’ll send dad a telegram. I know he’ll…’
‘I’ve done that, Kitty. Yesterday, after my chat with Caleb. And he has replied. I told him to send an ordinary cable. Here it is. “Must have good reason for rush Stop Will be there Wednesday Stop Congratulations Stop Love to Kitty Stop” Here.’ He gave the cable to Kitty. ‘I’m sure he’ll phone from Delhi, after the plane’s landed.’
Kitty took the cable and glanced at it. ‘You know, I had plans to go South, to the hills, and get a teaching job. But now, I don’t know how long this Dinesh affair will last, or when, even if, he’ll be able escape…Do you think the Seth was suspicious? I have never known him to be so cold towards me. What did you think of him?’
‘Seth Agarwal? Ruthless. I know his type. They have henchmen to do their dirty work, while they legally cover themselves.’
‘I could see he was impressed by you. I don’t know what you said to him in, was it Hindustani? Yes, he certainly was placated. Mind you he has endearing moments.’
‘Ah, I see. When he told me that you are an avatar of the goddess Lakshmi, since only Lakshmi can be so beautiful. That little mandir he has in his courtyard, I note is to Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. So, you’re susceptible to compliments, after all.’
‘Oh, I could throttle you sometimes.’
‘Any physical contact will be gratefully received.’
‘You get far too much of that. So, he’ll give Dinesh a second chance, and drop the charges against Ransingh?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m sorry about the honeymoon arrangements. I know it’s a shame to spend the fortnight here, but you have a lovely bungalow. It’s new for me. The area too. And a Military cantonment is safe from the evil reach of Seth Agarwal, in case he forgets the goddess aspect and…’
‘Right, you two?’ Vikram called from the house. ‘Shal and I are off to market. Lovely day for it.’ He observed breezily. ‘Back teatime.’
Shalini came up to them. ‘It’s getting hot in the veranda. You should go in. Order some nimbo pani, and relax in front of the TV. Old film starts, twenty minutes from now. Bhai Vikram, what name? The film’s name?’
‘I forget now. Something with Raj Kapoor.’
‘Anyway, Dusty, it will give Kitty some Hindi practice, Hai na.’ Shalini laughed. ‘Now that she’s making home in India. Okay, bye, bye. See you.’
They stood, waved and watched as Vikram and Shalini climbed into the tonga.
‘Let’s stay here a little longer. It’s not too hot, and the servants tend not to come out here unless called. Dusty, does Vikram know much…about, you know?’
‘Only about the fire at Fern Cottage and, of course, the wedding arrangements. But I’ll have to confide in Chopra, more. Certainly about Dinesh, because, if I’m going to help, I may need to take time off. I’ll be discreet. Chops is a decent chap and already he has been a great help. He’s booked the Black Elephant Institute for our Wedding Dinner Reception.’
‘Has he!’ She squeaked with delight. ‘I love the Black Elephant Institute. That why I’m so mad about you. You get things done.’
‘And we get the full catering staff. It’s too late for invitation cards.’
‘And don’t forget, Daddy will foot the bill. You’ve agreed.’
He nodded. ‘I have no one. Viks and Chops are standing in as family. The three of us are paying for the wedding cake. Isn’t that the custom, on the boy’s side?’
She looked around, leaned forward and squeezed his hands. ‘And I’m forgiven?’
‘That goes without saying. After all, Dinesh is family, now.’
‘Yes. You know, I didn’t like him at first. I adored Sandy, and Dinesh wasn’t very nice to Sandy. He was a hot head, going through an Indian nationalistic phase. Poor Sandy, bless him, was an unrepentant Anglophile.’
‘My Sam was one too, but from what you said of Sandy, less openly so. Much of all that Anglophile stuff, as I said, rubbed off on me. But now I’ve every good reason to be one.’ He lifted her hand and kissed it.
‘You said your guardian was less open, was he ashamed to be an Anglophile?’
‘Not really. His doctor, Dr Metha, said so once, and Sam said, that if a great man like Voltaire was happy to be one, he saw no shame in it.’
‘But Dinesh has changed. And that’s because of Alice. I told you about her. She’s like a sister to me. Then there’s Ransingh. Such a good, sad man. So…
‘Well, as I keep saying, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll do anything for you, dear, anything, for you mean everything to me…’
‘Even I know where that comes from.’
‘Lionel Bart.’ He started to sing. ‘I’ll go anywhere, for your smile, every…’
‘Hush, hush! The servants. We must be serious. And get on with our plans.’
‘Then start taking me for granted. I love you Kitty.’
‘I know you do.’
‘And you. You’ve never said it. Said the word.’
‘What word? Marry? But I’ve said it.’
‘That you love me!’
She gazed at him and her eyes softened.
‘Don’t say it Kitty, if you don’t want to, or just because I asked.’
‘Oh, Dusty, it’s just a word. What is love? I’ve been in love so many times, it no longer means anything. All I know is that I want to live with you. Be your wife and spend the rest of my life with you. If all that is love, then, I love you.’
He took her hands in his. ‘I’ve been silly. Of course, you do, and I am the luckiest man in the world.’
‘I’ll prove it. Take me to your bungalow, make love to me, now. I don’t care.’
‘No. It’s only a week. I’ll wait. Let’s make it special. I had planned a honeymoon in a Lake Palace hotel. It was to be a surprise. Loving you in a place and manner that befits your beauty.’
‘Dusty, please darling, don’t go on about my looks. It makes me feel inadequate. I can’t be as special as you make me out to be. I meant what I said. I don’t want you to suffer. You can love me. But can we do our planning first…although, I must say, Dad will be glad to know we waited till after marriage. It’ll put you up a notch or two in his estimation.’
‘Well, I must be mad, to wait when I don’t have to.’
‘Come, let’s get on, before they get back. You’ll be meeting Dinesh in less than a fortnight. I’ve told him to bear in mind that you’ve got a job.’
‘First, I must make notes, so that I am clear about the full story. As I said, I may have to, judiciously of course, let Chops know why and what I’m up to. I’ve already made notes and worked out a plan. I’ll get my brief case. It’s in the dining room. We may as well go there and work at the table. Easier for writing.’
They went inside. Dusty opened his brief case and took out a large exercise book. ‘Right,’ he
said, opening the book. ‘I’ve noted down what Mohan said and much of you’ve told me. This is a double check.’
She sat down next to him and leaned over. ‘Gosh! What beautiful handwriting you have.’ He smiled coyly. She stared into his eyes and turned away with a slight shiver. ‘You have such penetrating eyes. You don’t have to see me naked. Those eyes undress me every time you look at me.’
‘How are we ever going to get on with this?’ He pulled her hand towards him just as Shambu entered the room. Dusty quickly pretended to be reading Kitty’s palm.
‘Ho, ho,’ Shambu said rocking his head. ‘Lady has long, long life.’ He was a tall skeletal man with a slight stoop and a benign face. ‘Nimbo pani all ready, sahib?’
Dusty looked at Kitty. She nodded. ‘No ice.’
Shambu rocked his head with surprising vigour. ‘Making wid cold bottle water.’ The lime juice drink came on a tray. Shambu filled two glasses from a jug with a steady hand. Then he awaited approval. ‘Bahut achcha.’ Dusty said, and Shambu slid out of the room after allowing himself a mystic smile. Dusty and Kitty looked at each other and chuckled.
‘I rather like having servants around,’ Kitty said.
‘That reminds me. I haven’t employed one. Of course, I’ve a batman. They call them orderlies here.’
‘Leave it like that, Sam, for the time being. I love cooking. At least till after you retire and I start teaching; and if…I promised Dinesh I’ll leave Dharamsala after he’s seen the Seth. He wants me to be safe from the Seth’s revenge, when the Seth realises we have put him off his guard and enabled Dinesh to slip through his hands. But, we know the Seth can’t touch me here. Dinesh needn’t know that, and not having a cook will help. It is hard to keep a low profile with servants around.’
‘I will tell my man not to let any caller in while you’re alone in the house. And you must bear that in mind, while I’m on parade or in the office—daftar as it’s called. Right. Back to business. Now, why was Dinesh with Sandy and Emma?’
‘Dinesh’s father was married to Sandy’s sister, Dolly. He died when Dinesh was five or six. The marriage had gone wrong. Dolly’s husband took to drink and she was unhappy. So when she got a chance to marry again, she didn’t want Dinesh around and begged Sandy’s help.’
‘Another fostered child,’ Dusty mumbled, but Kitty heard.
‘I know so little about your life before we met. You won’t talk about your past.’
‘As I told you, the past is past. Kitty, I’m what you see.’
‘I read somewhere, that we are what we hide.’
‘Not if one keeps inventing oneself…But, we really must get on…Dinesh grew up hostile to Sandy. He met and arranged his own marriage to Shanti. Excluded Sandy and Emma from the proceedings. Wanted to appear a staunch Hindu, anti-Brit and an Indian Nationalist. Oh, and he was the apple of the Seth, his father-in-law’s, eye. After Sandy and Emma’s death, he gets a plum job to manage Agarwal Hotels Ltd., in Bombay. Then, his servant, I forget the name…’
‘Anthony…’
‘Warned or hinted that Shanti was unfaithful…’ Dusty looked at Kitty.
‘Don’t look at me like that. I won’t be, for no better reason than that sex is rather low on my list of interests. Something in the genes. The Franks are a cool lot.’
‘Franks, that’s an unusual surname?’
‘Not really. Norman, possibly. Where were we?’
‘Dinesh sneaked up and caught Shanti in the act, decided on divorce; whereupon the Seth sacked him, sent an emissary, who failed to get Dinesh to change his mind.’
‘Yes. That was the Munshi, the Seth’s secretary. Kind of. You saw him.’
‘Yes. Good. But I’m not clear about where Alice fits into all this.’
‘I’ll tell you what Alice told me. Dinesh learned that the Seth would rather have him bumped off than face the shame of a divorce scandal…Indians take these things as if it’s a personal affront. Anyway, Anthony got beaten up—and Dinesh realising that the Seth was deadly earnest, escaped with the injured Anthony to Goa, in his car, then got rid of it, so as not to leave a trail.’
‘And Alice?’
‘He met Alice in Goa. At the time she was a disciple of a Hindu guru. You know, like the Beatles and their Maharishi, but hers was a serious commitment. They spent time together at the guru’s ashram in Poona. Both were emotionally vulnerable, but Alice felt sure the Ashram would give enough protection from the Seth’s assassins. But the Seth managed to get his spy in. The man pretended to be a Brahmin, but he was discovered. He had made some ritual mistake. I don’t know what. I think he did something a Brahmin wouldn’t do and was exposed. But he managed to smuggle in Shanti and she made a scene. Both were asked to leave the ashram. After that Dinesh and Alice couldn’t stay on, and Alice realised that the only safe haven for them was England. Fortunately, Dinesh, like Sandy, is a British citizen, but there were certain things he had to do before they could fly to England. I won’t go into the details now, but from what Alice said, it was quite an adventure for them. Dinesh knew a hotel in Poona, managed by some friend of his whom Dinesh had helped, and from whom he borrowed a car…’
‘But, Kitty, how did they manage to leave the Ashram without…?’
‘Oh, the Guru decided to help, and his chauffeur took them in the Guru’s Rolls.’
‘Rolls? Rolls Royce?’
‘Yes. I gather these Gurus are rolling in it…’ She laughed at the accidental pun. ‘That reminds me. Didn’t you say Chopra has a brother in Poona, who runs a hotel? I wondered, because Alice said that this hotel friend of Dinesh was a Chopra.’
‘Chopra is quite a common Punjabi name. It would be helluva coincidence if it turned out…I’ll check with Chops. It will go in Dinesh’s favour if it is his brother.’
‘They then drove to a Raja’s palace—another friend of Dinesh—who had stored his stuff when he had to leave Bombay in a hurry. I can’t recall the name, but Alice said the Palace looked like a French Chateau. From there they drove to Bombay, and left the car there, got to the airport and flew to England.’
‘And in revenge the Seth got his men to set fire to Fern cottage, when he thought it was empty, with dreadful results. By the way, Kitty, why didn’t we see Shanti?’
‘She said she wasn’t well. But I saw her in the courtyard with Manjit, the boy she claims is Dinesh’s son.’
‘They probably thought we’d know at once he was not; and they won’t want that noised abroad.’ Dusty shut his note book and put it back in his brief case, ‘we’ll now have to wait for Dinesh’s arrival, and take it from there.’
Chapter Fourteen
Ted Franks walked out on to the veranda and gazed across the fields. The smoky morning mist had risen and settled behind the stately Dhauladhar Mountain Range, marking the distance between them and the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. They shone faintly against a golden sky. The orchards on his left were filled with pink and white blossom, and the air was filled with the scent of spring.
Kitty had noticed her father was silent during breakfast and wondered if his mind was wrestling over something that was troubling him, but decided to postpone asking till after she had finished packing for her trip to Goa. When she came out to join him she was still in her dressing gown. Her slippers made her approach a silent one. She stopped some distance from Ted and studied the back of his head. It was a shock to see how grey he was and how vulnerable he looked.
‘Daddy,’ she called out softly.
‘That you,’ he said without turning round.
She went up and put her arm around him and drew her face close to his. ‘Daddy? Daddy, you’ve been crying. Why, my love?’
‘Not to worry,’ her father said, ‘much were tears of joy. It’s a beautiful morning.’ He fumbled in his pocket, took out a handkerchief and blew his nose. ‘I have to say
, Dusty’s gown fits perfectly.’ He chuckled.
‘But you are worried about something.’
‘Not so much worried as mystified. The wedding’s postponed, and I don’t see how or why you both are so relaxed in the circumstances.’
‘Daddy, it seemed a bit heartless, to say nothing of it being a distraction, in the face of all this threat to Dinesh and Alice’s happiness. Only the arrangements have been cancelled. Look at it positively. It’s saving you money.’
‘Kitty, money is the least of my worries. And what about the booking at the Black Elephant? Cancelling that must have caused problems. I was surprised to find even Brigadier Chopra is relaxed about it all.’
‘The Black Elephant is a club. In fact, Dusty said that the Secretary of the Institute had to put off another party in order to fit us in and please the Brigadier. He will be relieved. But Dad, you and Dusty had a long, happy talk last night after dinner. You could have discussed your worries with him.’
‘Like everyone, I’m in awe of Dusty. He has such a daunting presence and always comes across supremely confident and in control.’
‘Dad, talk to me. I can’t bear to see you troubled about anything.’
‘Don’t misunderstand me. I know it had to be done. What with all this business of Dinesh, and Shanti and the Seth. Both of you have done wonders with the Seth, and with the help of Mohan Singh, you are bound to save Ransingh’s life. My worries are about your future. Are you sure, are both of you sure, this is what you want? Do you really love each other enough for a lifetime? You’re always up and about and he seems quite relaxed about it. Kitty, don’t look at me like that. No one would think you two are in love. The wedding has been…well, all right; but now you’ve taken up this short term job in this convent school in Goa.’
‘Daddy. We are not youngsters. Goodness, Dusty will be forty-five this year, and I’m no chicken. There, once Ransingh is freed and Dinesh has escaped back to Alice, we’ll celebrate, make up for the wedding party we did not have, and live happily ever after. As for long term plans? Well, we’ll honeymoon in the South, in the Nilgiri Hills, and while there, set about starting a school for orphans, which Dusty and I will run together.’
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